Clarity : how to get it, how to keep it & how to use it to balance your life part 2

[Audio] INTRODUCTION That’s why I’ve written this book. When you implement the principles I explain in this book, they will help to bring clarity and balance to your personal and business life. You will experience a transformation that will boost your confidence and take you places you never imagined you could go. IT’S like mapquest For life You know the MapQuest website, don’t you? The other day I was looking for directions and, not knowing how to get to my destination, I typed two addresses into MapQuest. All I had to do was type in the location I was starting from, and then enter the destination I wanted to reach, and click a button. In a few seconds, I printed out a step by step map to take me there. Every thing was laid out for me in a clear, concise manner. Wouldn't it be great if there was MapQuest for life? Imagine if you could tell a website or some other service where you want to go, or what you want to do, and then, in a few seconds—bingo!—it would provide a detailed, step by step map to take you there. To my knowledge, no such website exists. Likewise, there is no easy, quick way to gain clarity about your passion and purpose in life. But the principles I’ve laid out in this book are as close as you can get to having a MapQuest for life. They represent a proven system that can keep you on a steady course and save you significant time, energy and money. When you apply this system to your business, your marriage, your family, your relationships, your health...to any aspect of your life, it will provide a clear map to take you from where you currently are to aA.

[Audio] CLARITY where you want to go. You'll have to apply the dedication and the effort to take the journey. But you'll have a map in hand. Here’s the first empowering secret to keep in mind as you begin this journey: When you get clear about the person you want to become and what you want to accomplish, you will attract the things you need to make it happen. How do I know? I married one of those precious things. On my second date with Indy, I asked her what she wanted to do in life. Without hesitating, she said, “I want to have four children before I’m 30, I want to get my Master’s Degree in Speech and Language Pathology in five years and my doctorate in ten years.” Then she asked what I wanted to do. I said, “I think want to marry you!” Indy was crystal clear. She had extreme clarity in her vision of what she wanted to accomplish with her life. She knew what her purpose was and she was passionate about doing it. Today, we have four children, and she has a doctorate in Speech and Language Pathology. Pll say it again: When you have clarity in your life, and you know what your purpose is and what you want to accomplish, it’s amazing how you'll attract the right people and resources you need to make that happen. Most people lack this clarity. We see it in marriages. Consider that about 40 percent of all marriages end in divorce. Most couples spend more time planning their wedding than they do planning their marriages! They have a clear picture of what they want out of their wedding, and what they want their wedding to look like—but they don’t have a clue what they want their marriage to look like. 22.

[Audio] INTRODUCTION We see it in our jobs. When two million people were surveyed, 84 percent said they hated doing what they did for a living. They didn’t have clarity when they were seeking a profession, and now they have no sense of purpose or passion for what they are doing. We see it in our financial lives. Look at the scourge of credit card debt and overspending that is affecting so many people in this country. Did you know more than 70 percent of the U S population will retire without enough money to support themselves and will be dependent on somebody else? We see it in our health. We have an absolute health epidemic going on right now: More than one million Americans will die this year from heart attack, stroke and cancer caused by poor lifestyle choices. Public health experts say that 80 percent of them could be saved by eating right and exercising, and by having a clear vision of a healthier lifestyle. FAILURE IS A result OF Not HAVING A CLEAR AND CONCISE PLAN Remember, nobody plans to fail. Failure is a result of not having a clear and concise plan. And our failure to plan is not always due to laziness or lack of forethought. Nowadays, it’s easy to be overloaded. There’s too much to do and not enough time to do it. Modern technol ogy has exposed us to more daily information than previous genera tions could have imagined. But how do we discern what to listen to and what to tune out—and whom to listen to and whom to tune out? The modern world makes the focused life seem almost impossible. Life is like a smorgasbord with endless choices, and we keep going 23.

[Audio] CARTY, back and stuffing ourselves with everything that’s there because we do not have clarity. Clarity is the remedy. It’s found in setting wise goals and tuning out other distractions. Clarity will tell your brain what to focus on and what to tune out. Clarity will tell you whom to focus on and whom to tune out. Clarity will minimize the distractions. Clarity will act as your G-P-S to take you where you want to go. That’s why the main mission of this book is to show you how to achieve clarity and bring balance to your life. What ARE THE TWO most IMPORTANT days OF YouR life? I had the pleasure of meeting General Russel L Honoré. He’s a three star general who was in charge of the initial response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. On the day I met him, he was recalling an episode in which one of his mentors asked, “What are the two most important days in life?” The response his mentor gave is one that should resonate with all of us. “Number one is the day you were born.” “Number two is the day you figure out why you were born.” My sincere hope and desire is that after reading this book, you will be closer to understanding why you were born and have greater clarity toward understanding your purpose and passion in life..

[Audio] CHAPTER 1 WE ARE ALL terminal—DON'T ACCELERATE THE PROCESS “If I knew I was going to live this long, Id have taken better care of myself.” mickey mantle [ea to share a secret with you. If you violate one extremely important principle in life, you are guaranteed to fail—no matter what type of business you're in, what type of product or service you provide, or how well capitalized you are. If you violate this principle, you are guaranteed to fail in both business and life. This principle is very simple: Don't die. Now, don’t take this the wrong way. I know people die every day, and it’s an inevitable part of life. But a lot of people needlessly accelerate the process of making their own death occur. And they die far too soon and much too young. That’s the principle I’m talking about here. My dad violated this principle when he was 46 years old. 25.

[Audio] CLARITY My dad was a hard working guy. He worked about 70 hours a week at his job as the owner of a grocery store in Valhalla, New York. He didn’t take care of his health, and he smoked two packs of Camel (unfiltered) cigarettes every day. He was responsible for sustaining a family of eight children, and I can't imagine the pressure he must have felt financially, and in many other ways, in dealing with those responsi bilities. Perhaps he smoked because he thought it would help him deal with the stress he was facing as a father and a provider. My dad’s death left a huge void in my life, and in the lives of my brothers and sisters and my mom. Let me tell you about the day he passed away. It was July of 1968. I was 13 years old, on summer break before starting the ninth grade. It was a Sunday morning, and we were getting ready to go to church. My dad started feeling a little dizzy. It was a very hot, humid day so my mom told him to sit in the room that was air conditioned. But his dizziness became progressively worse. My mom called our pharmacist, Mr Slotnik. He was a good family friend and owned the business right next to my dad’s grocery store. He said he'd come right over. My dad’s symptoms still worsened, so my mom called our family doctor, Dr Ryan. This was back in the days when doctors made house calls, so he said he'd come right over, too. As we were waiting for Mr Slotnik and Dr Ryan to arrive, my dad’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and he lost consciousness. We carried him to the back of our station wagon to take him to the hospital. He was laying in my lap in the back of the car. I was a Boy Scout and had learned to do C-P-R and mouth to mouth resuscitation, and I was trying to perform both on my dad. But he didn’t regain conscious ness. When we arrived at the hospital, we rushed him in and the nurses 26.

[Audio] WE ARE A-L-L terminal—DON'T ACCELERATE THE PROCESS and the doctors came out. It was like a scene on TV: They brought him into that little room, they closed the curtains and they hooked him up to a machine that beeped in time with his heart rate. I’ll never forget that. It’s emblazoned in my memory. The beeps from the machine became slower. Beep beep beep beep. Beeep. Beeeeep. Becececep. Then they stopped. The doctors and nurses came out from behind the curtains. One of them said, “Your dad didn’t make it.” I was confused, in shock, and wondering how this was possible. My father had seemed perfectly healthy two hours before and now he was gone. While I remember every detail up to this moment, the hours and days that follow are largely blank. I remember going back home and friends and family coming around to console us. But I was in a daze, simply trying to make sense of what had just happened to our family. And what had just happened to me. T-H-E letter About 20 years after my dad’s death, I received a copy of a letter that my mom had received during that summer in 1968. This letter was written by a friend and business associate of my dad’s. I learned more about my father from this letter than from all the other people and stories combined. And although I didn’t fully realize it when I first read it, over time I came to view this letter as part of a road map that would help guide me through life. I would like to share this letter with you, along with some of the lessons and wisdom it has given me..

[Audio] CLARITY Dear Linda, Jimmy, Cheryl, Susan, Steve, Ricky, John and David, As you know by now, your father has many, many friends. He has been taken from all these friends but especially from each of you. Theres no replacement for this loss. Now you have only the courage God can give. I would hope each of you will be able, over time, to face the fact of your loss without bitterness, be able to accept life, be able to cherish all the fine memories your dad leaves with all of us. Each of you needs to do his part to behave in a manner that would bring pride to your father if he were still with us and to bring pride to your mother whose loss is at least as great as yours, and who needs your help at every turn. Most of all, you should know that to those outside your family, your father was more than a friend, more than a businessman, more than a member of a local organization. He was a very special person. He was ahead of his years in anticipating the needs of his community and taking action to meet those needs. He was a counselor and a friend to those who came to him with trouble. He had personal magic, the kind that gave a lift to those he met each day and made him a person who was refreshing to be with. As you get older you will become aware that his life, in the sight of both God and man, was one of fine accomplishment that his contributions were greater than those who were granted many extra years, that the community in which you live is a much better one because of him. I loved him, too. Archie Bowes, Jr..

[Audio] WE A-R-E A-L-L terminal—DON'T ACCELERATE THE PROCESS Reading this letter always makes me emotional. On this very day, even more so. I’m actually writing these words on Father’s Day. It’s an understatement to say that I’m extremely happy that I have this letter. Most people aren’t lucky enough to have such an eloquent tribute to their lost parent. Of course, I would much rather have learned these details about my dad first hand. But he left too soon for that. THEN AND NOW For my dad, on that summer day in 1968, my attempts at C-P-R were too little, too late. The damage had been done. He made choices that damaged his health—though he had access to much less information about how to maintain proper health, fitness and nutrition than we do today. And that’s a difference I can’t ignore. Given this, it’s certainly no accident that I gravitate toward busi nesses that deal with health and fitness. My brother Rick and I started Trillium Health Products in 1989, marketing a product called the Juiceman Juicer—which sold millions of units. I wanted to devote my energies to a business that helped people make positive decisions about their health, and helped them extend their lives through those positive decisions so they might avoid my father’s fate. As a child, I couldn't help my dad, but as an adult, I am passionate about helping others live healthy and successful lives. That's why I’ve put this chapter first. If you don’t follow the principles in this chapter, nothing else matters. Sure, you can have a great impact on this planet even if your life is short; I believe my father did. Certainly, you can have poor health, or even be confined to a wheelchair or a bed, and still touch many people's 29.

[Audio] CLARITY lives. But I firmly believe that you must do everything you can reason ably do to improve and safeguard your health, your strength, and your energy in order to be effective in life. And today, you can do a great deal. We now have an incredible amount of information about how to live a high energy, healthy lifestyle. And I’m going to give you the basic tools to do that. It’s important to understand that this isn’t just about you. Our poor choices have consequences for those who depend on us. In our day to day lives, it’s very difficult to have a positive impact on others if you don’t have the energy and vitality to use your talents. Further, there is a direct correlation between making good, healthy lifestyle choices and making good choices in other areas of life. More than any other factor, an unhealthy lifestyle will cause you to perform poorly in many key areas of life. After all, if you are run down, tired and out of balance, your ability to make good choices is compromised. I see this every day. I recently met yet another person who is strug gling in business and has poor health—and thinks his business trouble is causing his health issues. In his case, I believe, it’s the other way around. Quite frequently, when a person like this man starts making better choices about his or her health, it has a ripple effect. They have more energy and vigor, and essential tasks that languished begin to get done. Fewer mistakes are made. Others place more confidence in them. It’s a cycle of improvement, and one that’s quite gratifying to watch. At this point, however, this man hasn't begun that turnaround. And I know what he’s dealing with, because I’ve been there. Some of the worst decisions I have ever made, in business and in life, were made when I was extremely run down. And they hurt me for long periods of time. The opposite is also true; some of my best 30.

[Audio] WE A-R-E A-L-L terminal—DON'T ACCELERATE THE PROCESS decisions have come when I was in great shape both physically and emotionally. If you will follow the steps I have outlined in this chapter, you can and will achieve a healthy, high energy lifestyle. There is only one catch: I can't do it for you. You have to implement it and make it happen. SIX STRATEGIES For healthy, HIGH-ENERGY lifestyle If you get nothing else from this book, I hope you'll put these six strate gies into action. Why? Because if you follow all of the other principles I talk about in the book but ignore these six strategies, you're almost guaranteed to fail. You'll be engineering your life to violate the same important principle that my dad did. Doing so can negate all of your positive efforts in all other areas of your life, no matter how hard you work. 1. Create a clear vision for the healthy lifestyle you want. Again, it all comes down to clarity. Answer these two questions: A When you say you want to “have a healthy lifestyle,” what specific goals and achievements does that entail? What does it really look like? Make it simple and specific, and write those goals down. B How long do you really want to live? (Have you ever even thought about this?) My own written goal is stated like this: “I weigh 205 pounds and my body fat is 20 percent or less.” Use whatever works for you. For me, having a picture of what I am aspiring to do helps me stay focused and helps me maintain a clear, concise picture of what I’m trying to 31.

[Audio] CLARITY accomplish. Notice that the goal is written in the present tense and stated with certainty, as if it was already accomplished; P’ll explain why in an upcoming chapter. Visual aids help. I have a picture of myself from 1986, when I ran the 10K Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, Georgia in under 40 minutes. I was in the best shape of my life, or very close to it, and I continue to use that photo as a visual reminder of why I want to stay in shape. As for the second question, take it seriously. If you want to live to be 90 years old, what habits will help you achieve this, and what habits will hold you back? The best way to look at this is to take a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle. On the left side, write down everything that is negatively holding you back. On the right side, write down all the positive habits that will help you get there. Once you've done this, you can start to work on getting rid of the negative habits and replacing them with the positive ones. Can you reach extreme old age without planning? Certainly. It happens all the time, as a walk through any nursing home will reveal. I'd like to live to be 101, myself, but I'd rather not join the ranks of people who didn’t arrive at that age ready to tackle its adversities. 2. Create and sustain a positive mental attitude. It is not what happens to us in life; it is how we respond to what is happening to us that really counts. Having a healthy, high energy lifestyle requires that you create and sustain a positive mental attitude. It is not enough to have a clear goal if you are already telling yourself that you can’t do it. I call that stinkin’ thinkin’. An irony? All stressful or negative emotions begin as a stressful or negative thought. ‘The inability to deal with stress and worry has been a2.

[Audio] WE A-R-E A-L-L terminal-—DON’T ACCELERATE THE PROCESS linked to a multitude of illnesses, including depression, heart attack, cancer, ulcers and chronic fatigue, to name just a few. Studies show that over 75 percent of illness can be linked to what I term stinkin’ thinkin’. In other words, we cause over three quarters of our illnesses in our mind. Remember, stress and worry only exist to the degree that you allow them to exist. “Your attitude, not They are products of perception; it is the your aptitude will “ay you think about something that actually makes it stressful. help determine your Here’s an example. My father altitude in life.” in law, George Soos, had triple bypass 116 NGL. AR surgery last year at age 77. George was in very poor health. He was about 60 pounds overweight. He drank a few cocktails every day to help alleviate his chronic arthritic pain. George's doctor gave him a workout plan prior to his operation to help him get in shape for the operation, but he saw little point in following it. He had a very wary attitude going into the surgery. Understand that George had spent much of his life being the epitome of good health and productive living. He was a starting defensive lineman for West Point back in 1954, and then a suc cessful and honest politician who ran on the same ticket as Nelson Rockefeller. He was an executive with Long Island Lighting and later served as the County Clerk for the town of Roslyn, New York. He had vigorous health, but he began to lose it as he pursued his career and stopped taking care of himself. Diet was a large issue; the older we get, the harder it becomes to overcome poor dietary habits with exercise. BS.

[Audio] CLARITY A few weeks after the surgery, my wife:and I flew to New York to see him. When I asked him how he was doing, he said, “Steven, I never should have let them operate. I should have let God take me.” I was shocked to hear this. My wife and I and other family members continued to support and encourage him and give him a multitude of reasons why we and others still needed him around. Slowly but surely, George fought through the stinkin’ thinkin’ that had all but destroyed his will to live. He slowly regained the can do attitude that served him so well in his life. He had to look inside himself and take action. To recuperate, he started with just five minutes of exercise on a recumbent bike each day. He slowly worked up to 10 minutes, and then 15, and then 20 minutes each day. At the same time, he stopped drinking and started to eat healthier. He began keeping a journal of his food intake, exercise and weight loss; and he still keeps the journal. As of the writing of this book, at 78 years old, George has lost over 60 pounds and is—for the first time since his West Point playing days— less than 200 pounds! George demonstrated quite vividly to me that our attitudes can either make us or break us. If you will take time to reflect on your situation and choose to respond with a positive mental attitude—rather than react with stinkin’ thinkin—you will be able to handle anything life throws your way. 3. Remember this formula: 75 plus 20 plus 5 = a healthy lifestyle. What is it? Well, I've heard almost every concept in existence to create a healthy lifestyle, and this is the one that ultimately worked for me. 34.

[Audio] WE A-R-E A-L-L terminal-—DON’T ACCELERATE THE PROCESS Here’s what it means: 75 percent of our health comes from nutrition, 20 percent comes from exercise and five percent comes from supplements. The problem? Most people want to reverse this formula. They want to eat poorly, never exercise, and then—when they really need to—take a pill that will give them health (as well as a fit and trim body). Fortunes have been made on selling this erroneous premise. Years ago, there was actually a product called “Exercise in a Bottle,” and the marketing suggested that taking this pill would deliver all the benefits of exercise. People didn’t fall for something so obviously ridiculous, right? I'll answer that by telling you the product grew into a 100 million dollars company. T-H-E seven keys TO EATING well Just how important is it to eat well? According to the “75 plus 20 plus 5=a healthy lifestyle,” nutrition is the most influential factor to your health, by far. |t is the single most important factor in determining how much vitality and vigor we have in our lives—and how long we ll ultimately enjoy our stay on earth. Again, think of nutrition as anything that passes between your lips. The food we eat is the fuel for our bodies. To illustrate this, I'd like to share the story of a friend who was in a hurry to get to his son’s soccer game. He stopped at a gas station and filled his car with gas. He got to the game, but when he was driving home his car broke down. As it turned out, he was in such a rush that he put diesel fuel in his new Audi and caused $6000 worth of damage. He had to replace the catalytic converter and many other parts..

[Audio] Cl A Rey Our bodies react the same way to the fuel we put in it. We are usually in such a rush; we put the wrong fuel in our body. Although it may not happen suddenly, the body will break down as a result. And $6000 won't come close to fixing it. | can promise you that. The consequences of poor nutrition are rampant today. Obesity and juvenile diabetes are at epidemic levels. Health experts are now empha sizing a terrifying possibility: For the first time in U S history, the current generation of children might not outlive their parents. There are several reasons for this. For one, eating has become something that we do to entertain ourselves rather than to provide healthy fuel for our bodies. This sad fact has opened a ready path for many companies to sell products that exploit our bad habits, and has allowed misinformation to spread. Take dieting; people spend billions of dollars on commercial diets each year. The irony? Statistics show that almost 100 percent of the people regain 110 percent of whatever weight they lost within 12 months of going off the diet. The message in that particular case is very simple: Diets don’t work. So, what does work? It’s pretty simple. Making the right choices about what we eat, so that our daily nutrition supports (rather than sabotages) our goal of having a healthy, energetic lifestyle. Okay, back to the “75 plus 20 plus 5 =a healthy lifestyle” formula. It means that 75 percent of our health and vitality comes from what passes between our lips. If we're not intentional and focused about what we eat, it’s all too easy to give our bodies a mix of fuel that harms us. With proper nutrition, you can prevent a lot of the major degenerative diseases that occur commonly in the U S In fact, research has shown that over 80 percent of the deaths from the three top killers—heart attack, stroke and cancer—could be prevented with dietary changes. Proper nutrition is so important to our lives, I'd like to share a mini plan with you to make certain you have the tools you need to get a handle on the 36.

[Audio] WE A-R-E A-L-L terminal—DON’T ACCELERATE THE PROCESS this often misunderstood essential concept. Here are seven keys to eating well: 1. Have a plan. Again, it all starts with clarity. Being clear on what you need to accomplish with your diet, and having a daily plan to achieve those results, is the foundation of living a healthy, high energy nutritional lifestyle. When you take the time to plan your meals, you are more likely to make wise choices that produce health and well being. Of course, most of us have such hectic, busy lifestyles that we usually wing it when it comes to our meals. At the very least, have a plan when you buy your food. It is a proven fact that when you go into the grocery store and you have a well thought out list, you will spend less time and money than if you went in unprepared. It is so important to be proactive and have clarity when it comes to preparing your meals. 2. Eat less animal meat and animal byproducts. The major source of cholesterol and fat in the American diet comes from animal and animal byproducts. This includes meat, cheese, ice cream...yes, all the things we love. There are a multitude of healthier alternatives today to these foods, and if you can just think about replacing some of them, you'll be taking a very positive step. For example, you can replace red meats with fish or poultry alternatives, which can be leaner sources of protein and will be more energizing to our body with less negative impact. 3. Consume five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables each day. If you don’t even come close to this, you're very similar to most Americans who are slowly allowing their bodies to weaken and develop degenerative diseases. The reality is that less than 10 percent of the population gets the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables each day. This disturbing fact is what created the opportunity for my brother and me to start Trillium Health Products, marketers of the Juiceman Juicer. ay.

[Audio] CLARITY Dol really “juice?” You bet | do. My family started juicing 20 years ago and we still do it every day. Before working on this chapter today, | got up early and | had my usual glass of pineapple/orange/grapefruit/strawberry juice. | don’t feel that | can get the right start to a good day unless | have all of those nutrients from the fruits and vegetables in my morning juice. Of course, rather than juicing you could eat your fresh fruit and vegeta bles in the raw [or as close to it as possible). That offers the best benefits of all. Fruits and vegetables should be part of every meal and every snack. They are packed with fiber and antioxidants that help our body’s immune system. We need them to fight off the effects of environmental pollutants. Usually the most colorful combination of fruits and vegetables contains the most nutrients. I'm a juicer because it’s convenient, and it lets me consume more fruits and vegetables every day than | normally would. | personally love fruits and vegetables, but it’s very difficult to consume the quantity of fruits and veg etables you need for optimum health during the day. Having a glass of fruit juice in the morning and vegetable juice in the afternoon gives me many of the nutritional benefits of eating all those fruits and vegetables. Again, you still need to eat fruits and vegetables to get the benefits of the fiber, but to get the density and variety of many essential nutrients, juicing is a great way to do it. It works for me and my family. Whatever works for you, employ that daily strategy to continue to add more fruits and vegetables to your meals and to your snacks. 4. Limit processed foods. What are processed foods? Think of them like this: Anything that’s not natural or has been processed—white flour, white sugar, salt—all contribute to poor health. Do you know that the average person consumes more than 200 pounds of sugar in the desserts, sodas, candies, and other processed foods they consume each year? That’s 200 pounds of sugar! That’s scary, as studies have actually shown that sugar acts as fuel for cancer cells to grow. And it’s obviously not helping with our obesity epidemic. 38.

[Audio] WE A-R-E A-L-L terminal—DON'T ACCELERATE THE PROCESS Sugar and refined foods are simple carbohydrates, because it doesn't take our body very long to break them down and process them. The more we can replace these products with complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, wholegrain breads and wholegrain pastas, the more beneficial it is to our bodies. It takes our bodies longer to break down these foods, and they don't cause an immediate rush of blood sugar and insulin into our system (which has negative health impacts for a number of reasons]. A confession? | love some processed foods. Especially oatmeal raisin cookies. But here’s how | personally deal with having treats and extras that make life livable: If I'm eating healthy 80 percent of the time, | find that | can be more relaxed with the remaining 20 percent, and enjoy treats and some less healthy foods without much problem. Of course, eating healthy 80 percent of the time is no small feat. Keeping junk food out of our house helps tremendously. If you don’t keep any junk food around, you may find that it’s “out of sight, out of mind.” So you don't crave it. But if it’s sitting on the counter, I’m going to attack it. So my wife and | try to keep a healthy kitchen. If we want to indulge in a treat, we have to leave our house to get it—and that makes it so much easier to overcome temptation in moments when I’m craving something sweet. Again, consistency is the most important trait when it comes to eating wisely. | personally feel that if you're eating well 80 percent of the time, it’s okay to indulge in some less healthy foods the other 20 percent of the time. In fact, it’s positive to eat some unhealthy treats that you crave regularly so that you can keep those cravings at bay. 5. Consume lots of water. Water helps our bodies in many ways and it is an important part of a healthy, high energy nutritional lifestyle. Our bodies are composed of more than 65 percent water. Water helps to clean our bodies and also to deliver nutrients in and out of our system. Mild daily dehydra tion has been associated with memory loss, so consuming enough water Is also very important in our mental acuity. 39.

[Audio] CLARET How much is enough? The recommended formula for water consump tion is to consume one half of your body weight in ounces every day. So if you weigh 150 pounds, you should consume 75 ounces of water per day. Another recommendation is to drink 8 to 10 eight ounce glasses of water per day. Some nutritionists and medical researchers now feel that this recommendation was never based on solid research, and may in fact be an unnecessary volume of water to drink every day for most people, but | personally feel that it’s a helpful guideline. Most people don't drink enough water, so it’s important for you to find strategies that help you consume as much water as you possibly can. And by water, | don’t mean fluids in general; | mean pure water. The more you can replace other drinks—coffee, sodas, canned juices with water—the more vibrant your body and mind will be. Also if you drink an eight ounce glass of water before each meal it will help curb your appetite and you will actually eat less, so it’s extremely important to maintain a high energy lifestyle that you consume the appropriate amount of water each day. 6. Eat smaller meals more often. Eating five to six smaller meals and snacks per day is much healthier than the standard three large meals. Our bodies and our metabolism function better when we eat smaller meals more frequently. Large meals create a system overload, causing us to lose energy and feel sluggish. When we consume smaller, healthier meals more frequently, we allow our bodies and our digestive system to work more efficiently and also to keep nutrients flowing throughout our body. Our biggest meal of the day should be breakfast. A study done by researchers at Vanderbilt University on overweight people found that most were breakfast skippers. Yet just by adding breakfast to the day, the average person lost 30 percent of the weight they had put on. While it’s a cliché, breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day. If you're going to eat a big meal, breakfast is likely the best time to do it.

[Audio] WE A-R-E A-L-L terminal—DON'T ACCELERATE THE PROCESS because you're going to be more active during the course of the day and you ll give your body the opportunity to digest that meal. Unfortunately, people typically tend to make dinner their largest and unhealthiest meal of the day. Most of us are not very active after eating dinner, so eating a large meal this late in the day leads our bodies to store most of it as fat. | recommend that you experiment with eating smaller meals more fre quently, and see how it impacts your energy level. This will take planning. Make sure you have healthy snacks already prepared and ready to grab. This will help keep your metabolism going and avoid hunger. Two tips to help you make eating small, frequent meals easier and more satisfying: Eat slowly. Try to consciously think about chewing your food, and try to chew 20 to 25 times per bite. When you chew your food more thor oughly, you'll help your body digest it, you will be more satisfied, and you will tend to not eat as much. [I realize chewing every bite of food 20 to 25 times sounds a little crazy, but I’ve done it and found it works very well for me.] Divide restaurant portions. They're usually too large for one person. What used to feed a family of six now feeds a family of four, and the portions that restaurants serve are truly enormous. There’s enough on a plate to typically feed two people. So either share the portion, or just tell your server when ordering to divide your meal in half and put half in a to go box, so you won't be tempted to finish the whole thing when it lands in front of you. This will not only help you control the amount of food that you're eating, but it’s also more cost effective because you'll have another meal already prepared that you can eat the next day. 7. Use supplements wisely. Because today’s foods do not always have the appropriate level of minerals and nutrients, it helps to properly supplement your food intake with vitamins and minerals. | personally take a good multi 41.

[Audio] SAAR TEY vitamin along with omega oil once a day, as well as an energy powder called Greenergy. | mix it in with my fresh fruit juice and it gives me a complete boost in the morning. No need for coffee. If you want to learn more about this energy powder, please visit my website at www.VitalVisionsInc.com. | know people who take between 20 and 30 pills in a day. | think this is foolish and unhealthy. Again, it’s called supplementation because it’s supposed to supplement a good, healthy diet. In the formula | mentioned for optimum health, 75 percent of our health is dependent upon nutrition—or the things we pass through our lips. Supplementation is just five percent of this formula, so the pills are just supposed to fill in those nutrients and minerals that we might be lacking. Typically, people want to reverse this equation and use supplements as a crutch. They want to take pills to replace healthy nutrition, and to wholly compensate for the fact that they're not eating properly. Again, that just doesn’t work. I'm a big believer in nutritional supplementation—and | only take a daily multivitamin with omega oil plus and energy powder. That should reveal a lot about the role | think supplements ought to play in maintaining health. With that said, remember that people have differing supplementation needs, based on their individual diets, body compositions, level of health, lifestyle, genetics, and other factors. In short, everyone's bodies are different and can react differently to certain stresses and stimuli (including nutrients}, so don’t assume a cookie cutter approach to supplements. What works for another person won't automatically be best for you. To learn what does suit you best, you'll need to experiment. | recommend that you become a student of good health and make it a habit to read as much as possible about the latest information on nutritional science. Explore the Internet for the latest studies. For example, if you did this now, you will find that many physicians and researchers are recommending that people take vitamin D supplements, as well fish oil supplements for cardiac health. But things change. And that’s why it’s important to keep tabs.